The PM-WANI network, a public Wi-Fi hotspot initiative of the Department of Information Technology (DIT), was launched on October 15, 2017. The government of India has allocated Rs. 5,000 crore under the PM-WANI scheme to establish 300,000+ Wi-Fi hotspots as part of its Digital India initiative and projects to improve connectivity.
The project has been developed by a consortium led by Wipro Technologies Limited and Asharq Digital Technologies (ADTECH) and will be implemented by DIT.
The project aims at providing high-speed Internet access through publicly accessible hotspots and is currently being rolled out in major urban centres for free or at a minimal cost.
The aim is to connect 1 million people with free or low-cost access to Wi-Fi hotspots through the Wi-Fi Internet Access Program (Wiiationa).
The Government of India is working on the PM-Wani project involving the large-scale deployment of Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) hotspots throughout India. The project aims to get large-scale deployment of Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) hotspots throughout India to drive up connectivity alternatives and enhance digital access.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi endorsed the concept during his visit to Washington, D.C, in July 2015. The project aims to bring connectivity to the rural areas of India with high population density, where most people have no access to broadband Internet connections, e.g., telecommunication towers or fixed wireless networks, with the objective of enabling them to benefit from improved quality and extensive coverage of Internet connectivity services.
Department spearheads the PM-Wani project for Infra at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR). IITR also contributed a key technology element for building the infrastructure in collaboration with IIT Delhi and the National Institute Of Technology Rourkela (NITR). A joint venture between IIT Roorkee & Indian Institute Of Science Education & Research (IISER) has been formed under this project.
The PM-Wani Project will be implemented through a series of actions:
iii) Deployment of broadband infrastructure and its functionalization via “dual connectivity”
vii) Expansion into new markets through product bundling as an expansion strategy while retaining net neutrality in all markets, including international markets such as Europe, Middle East & Africa countries
viii) Integration with other programs like Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, Aastha Yojana, etc.
The vision for India’s connectivity has been so far lacking. Though blessed with decent connectivity, the entire country does not benefit from the internet. There are some pockets where internet connectivity is available, but it is limited and unreliable.
The Public WiFi project aims to change all that by providing large-scale WiFi hotspots throughout India that will be available to people at no cost. It will connect over ten crore households living in rural areas and provides access to over 800 categories of content, including sports events, news, entertainment, music and educational programmes.
Public WiFi hotspots will also provide a revenue source for broadcasters who can monetize their content by charging fees to the users based on their usage and usage duration.
Moreover, the project has a number of other benefits beyond just connectivity: public WiFi hotspots will have the ability to be used as a platform for non-geo-specific applications such as social networking and other mobile apps; they can also be used as a platform for data analysis and application development; they can be used as a venue for gatherings where many people can gather at once; etc.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is to build a connected nation, which is why he has announced the public WiFi project.
The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Communications and IT (MoCIT) under the Prime Minister’s New Digital India (PMNDI) initiative. The PMNDI will be launched in 2019 and is expected to boost digital engagement among citizens by providing them with easy, affordable, cost-effective and faster access to meet their daily needs and requirements.
The project will cover around 80 states (i.e. 34 states across four zones), including Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana. These states have the highest population of internet users in India, with an estimated over 672 million people using internet services every month.
Currently, there are 2,400 hotspots spread across these states covering over one crore premises with an average speed of 100 Mbps used for commercial purposes such as teleconferencing services for colleges and large offices like banks or government agencies. Also, around 27500 public WiFi hotspots would be available across four cities of the Delhi-NCR region – Delhi NCR Gateway; Noida; Ghaziabad; Noida Sector-6, where WiFi hotspots already cover over 15 lakh people.
In addition to this number PMWANI also plans to install another 12000 WiFi hotspots across India, including 1000000 hotspots within three years’ time span till 2020/21. This number will make up more than 200000 hotspots per year, adding up to a network of 576000 hotspots every year at the cost of close to Rs 1 crore per year. These high densities of WiFi hotspots will enable users to access the Internet on their mobile devices anywhere they want without any limitations and restrictions, unlike today where it is not feasible for a user to get access (i) from his home or office WiFi hotspot since long-distance connections are not available from these places leading them to suffer due inconvenience while travelling etc.; ii) It can also provide increased connectivity options within cities such as schools & colleges / educational institutes (where no mobile network coverage exists due to lack of infrastructure), hospitals & health facilities etc.; iii) As far as security concerns are concerned PMWANI will implement both digital footprint protection measures & physical perimeter protection measures during design stage.
With the recent events in India, there has been a lot of buzz around the internet connectivity issue. For example, India is the world’s third-largest market for mobile internet traffic, yet there are only 8.1 million connections (per day). Despite this, there is an urgent need to expand services and infrastructure to ensure long term solutions for rural areas where mobile connectivity is vital for economic development and social progress.
A public WiFi hotspot can be a solution for providing access to a range of services such as schools, government offices and hospitals, which require unrestricted internet connection even during office hours. Such internet access can be built on large-scale data centres at locations like public parks or libraries or in city centres that are not well served by cellular networks or other conventional WIFI solutions.
To date, with the advent of new technologies such as LTE/LGC (Long Term Evolution/Longest Gigahertz), MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and cloud computing technologies, more options have emerged, including small cells (small cells are a broad category of WiFi hotspots deployed typically in areas with poor coverage). As mobile networks continue to evolve, these small cell solutions have become more attractive, especially when urban environments require better coverage than WiFi-based solutions.
Public WiFi hotspots can be deployed in multiple ways, including:
1) Small Cell Towers – These can be deployed all across towns and cities, building upon existing infrastructure available in these areas or being created from scratch using tower components that are either available or easily constructed locally or by using dedicated funding sources. The benefit here is that much larger towers will be needed as compared to fixed Wi-Fi-based solutions that may not even cover the entire area covered by Internet service providers (ISPs). This makes them costlier and more difficult to deploy than fixed WiFi systems but provides excellent coverage over larger geographic areas, including densely urbanized areas.
2) Fixed WiFi – Fixed WiFi has been used extensively in urban settings as it provides good coverage over narrow corridors while being relatively easy to deploy compared to small cell solutions where coverage loss due to uneven terrain may occur. However, fixed WiFi systems require expensive towers when compared with other options such as small cell towers or cloud-based technology, which provide much better coverage.
Although the Indian government is still a long way from upgrading its roads, the PM-WANI scheme has been able to bring about significant changes in the lives of its citizens.
PM-WANI has been a game-changer for two reasons. Firstly, it has provided access to the Internet and similar services in every Indian neighbourhood or town. Secondly, it has brought about significant changes in the lives of its citizens.
Through this scheme, all citizens of India can now enjoy reliable internet connectivity at home and office without dealing with roaming charges and unnecessary data bills.
The PM-WANI project aims at getting large-scale deployment of Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) hotspots throughout India to drive up connectivity alternatives and enhance digital access.
It also aims at providing state government departments with adequate accessibility so that they can be more effective in providing services to the people.
It is also hoped that this will help increase usage of digital services such as e-books, e-mail and social media services, which are essential for modern-day Indians.
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